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Addiction and debt problems: How to deal with them

Addiction to alcohol or drugs often goes hand-in-hand with problem debt.

Spending money on alcohol or drugs, or borrowing more to pay for them, can make it harder to start dealing with your debts. But equally the pressure of coping with problem debt can make it harder to focus on dealing with an addiction.

If you’re struggling with debts and addiction, it’s important to take steps to deal with both issues. The more progress you make with one, the easier you’re likely to find it to deal with the other.

Help with your debt problems

We can support you to deal with your debts. We deal with people from all walks of life, each with their own life story and unique circumstances.

We’ll help you put together a realistic budget, tailored to your needs. And we’ll work out the best way to get your debts under control.

Help with your addiction

We can help you with your debt problems, but we recommend you get expert help to deal with your addiction.

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to dealing with alcohol or drug misuse, and your own GP Is likely to be the best starting point. They should be able to advise you on services available to support you in your area.

Alternatively if you’d prefer to speak to someone confidentially you can contact the national drugs helpline Frank on 0300 123 6600 (every days, 24 hours) or the alcohol helpline Drinkline on 0300 123 1110 (weekdays 9am – 8pm, weekends 11am – 4pm). Both of these helplines are free from a landline or mobile (depending on your call package).

Help if a family member or friend is dealing with addiction and debt

If someone close to you is struggling to cope with addiction and debt it can put a huge stress on you and your household finances.

If you’re struggling to deal with someone else’s addiction and debt problems, get specialist advice. This will ensure you’re doing the best you can for your loved one and looking after yourself at the same time.

The Frank and Drinkline helplines can offer advice and support about addiction to friends or family. They may be able to direct you to services locally to support you further.

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*This is the average rating of our service based on the StepChange reviews on Feefo by DMP and DRO clients three months into their solution.